FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2012 file photo, a sign is seen near a marina in Kennebunk, Maine. Alexis Wright, 29, is accused of operating a prostitution business out of her Zumba studio in Kennebunk, secretly videotaping her encounters and keeping meticulous records of her clients. Police plan to release more than 100 names little by little over the next several weeks. The warning has set off a flurry of rumors among residents who say they've heard the list might include lawyers, doctors, law enforcement officials and a television personality.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) less

FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2012 file photo, a sign is seen near a marina in Kennebunk, Maine. Alexis Wright, 29, is accused of operating a prostitution business out of her Zumba studio in Kennebunk, secretly ... more

Photo: Robert F. Bukaty, Associated Press

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Alexis Wright is accused of running a prostitution business in Kennebunk, Maine. Police plan to release her clients' names.

Alexis Wright is accused of running a prostitution business in Kennebunk, Maine. Police plan to release her clients' names.

Photo: Joel Page, Associated Press

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A pizzeria worker is interviewed by a TV crew in front of the former fitness studio where prostitution has been alledged to have occured in Kennebunk, Maine, Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. The police department's plan to release some of the more than 150 names of suspected clients was delayed Friday by last-minute legal wrangling. Alexis Wright, a 29-year-old fitness instructor from Wells, Maine, has pleaded not guilty to prostitution, invasion of privacy and other charges for allegedly accepting money for sex and secretly videotaping her encounters. Her business partner, Mark Strong Sr., a 57-year-old insurance agent and private investigator from Thomaston, Maine, pleaded not guilty to 59 misdemeanor charges.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) less

A pizzeria worker is interviewed by a TV crew in front of the former fitness studio where prostitution has been alledged to have occured in Kennebunk, Maine, Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. The police department's plan ... more

Photo: Robert F. Bukaty, Associated Press

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Cities shame johns to fight prostitution

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Gone are the days of the nameless, faceless john. Men who buy sex are now likely to end up with their faces splashed across the Internet or the morning newspaper.

A Maine tourist town shaken up by authorities' promises to reveal the identities of dozens of clients of a fitness instructor accused of prostitution is just the latest place to enlist public shaming as a preventive measure.

The city of Fresno sponsors a website called "Operation Reveal" that features mug shots of suspected johns, while Oklahoma City has the vigilante-style "JohnTV." In Arlington, Texas, a highway billboard declares "This could be you" under the picture of four suspects.

In Maine, the small-town scandal has literally put Kennebunk on the map - it's now part of a database tracking more than 870 municipalities that have launched initiatives targeting men who hire prostitutes.

Interviews and surveys of officers at 200 police departments nationwide since 2008 found most consider targeting customers the best way to curb prostitution, because they fear publicity about the charges more than fines or even jail time. It continues a long-developing trend away from prosecuting the "supply" side - the prostitutes themselves - and targeting the demand.

In the case that has embroiled the coastal town of Kennebunk, 29-year-old Alexis Wright is accused of operating a prostitution business out of her Zumba studio, secretly videotaping her encounters and keeping meticulous records of her clients.

Police plan to release more than 100 names over the next several weeks. The warning has set off a flurry of rumors among residents who say they've heard the list might include lawyers, doctors, law enforcement officials and a television personality.

A lawyer for two men believed to be on the list asked a judge to prevent the release of the names. The judge declined, but the lawyer has appealed to the state's top court, which won't rule until Monday at the earliest.

Law enforcers and other opponents of prostitution say that the practice endangers vulnerable girls who could fall prey to pimps, and that it breeds crime and drug use.

Shively's three-year study found about 60 percent of police departments that arrest prostitution clients publicize their identity in some way.

Places including El Paso, Texas; Chicago; St. Paul, Minn.; and Chattanooga, Tenn., have been or are currently home to police- or community-sponsored shaming pages. In Baltimore, a community program has encouraged residents to attend court in prostitution cases to shame offenders and urged judges and prosecutors to follow through with charges and penalties.

Sometimes, police departments send "Dear John" letters to the homes of owners of cars seen cruising for streetwalkers. Others require offenders to attend classes aimed at preventing recidivism by educating first-time offenders about the dangers of prostitution.

But the efforts face criticism, too.

The shaming techniques are particularly damaging because they publicly humiliate people prior to trial, for what remains a relatively minor offense, said Laurie Shanks, a professor at Albany Law School.

"The chance of a completely innocent person having their life destroyed was astronomical," she said. "It was worse than the scarlet letter. At least the scarlet letter happened after the trial. It's closer to branding, where you can't take it off once the harm has been done."